1Gt!(8 short history 

of STATEN ISLAND 



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Sj> CORNELIUS G. KOLFF 




Class _Ei_a-i 

Book 



EARLY 

HISTORY 

OF 

STATEN ISLAND 



BY 

CORNELIUS G. KOLFF 



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DEDICATION 



It is with a feeling of pleasure and of gratitude 
that I dedicate this modest volume to my old friend, 
Ira K. Morris, whose history of Staten Island has en- 
deared him to all those who love Staten Island and 
whose indefatigable and painstakng historical re- 
searches of many years have challenged the admira- 
tion of those interested in the history of our Island. 



CORNELIUS G. KOLFF. 
Harbor View, 

Rosebank, N. Y. 
May, 1918. 



INTRODUCTION 



A feeling of gratitude for the many happy years 
spent on Staten Island, and the desire to awaken in 
the hearts of the growing generations of Staten Island- 
ers an interest and a love for their native Island, have 
induced the writer to present this short history. 

Being neither a literary man nor an historian, the 
writer asks the kind indulgence of the critical reader. 
Much information has been obtained from histories 
of Staten Island, written by men more intimately ac- 
quainted with events. 

If this modest volume serves to instruct the youth 
of Staten Island, and to create a love for the place, 
the writer's effort will be amply rewarded. 



CORNELIUS G. KOLFF. 



Early History of Staten Island 

At the time Christopher Columbus discovered 
America, in the year 1492, Staten Island was inhabited 
by Raritan Indians, a branch of the Delaware Nation. 

With the exception of the sandy beaches and the 
salt meadows, the Island was almost covered with 
woods, and owing to this fact it was called by the In- 
dians "Aquehonga Manadnock" — "The Island of 
Woods." 

In the forests were many wild animals, such as 
bears, panthers, and deers, and also wild birds. In the 
lakes, the creeks and waters surrounding the Island 
were fish of all kinds, and in the waters along the 
shores were oysters and clams. 

The Indians spent their time hunting the wild 
animals, fishing in the streams and sea, and some- 
times in wars with neighboring tribes. 

The Indian women cultivated the fields and grew 
corn, which they ground with stones in wooden mor- 
tars, and made into mash. They also raised some 
tobacco, which the men smoked. Their food consisted 
of corn, venison, fish, oysters and clams. Their cloth- 
ing was made of skins of wild animals. 

Their weapons were mainly arrows, with points 
made of flint, and axes of stone, fastened to wooden 
handles by leather strings. Their fish-hooks were 
made of fish bones, and the claws of birds. They 
lived in tents, called wigwams, made of the bark of 
trees and the skin of animals. 

The Indian money consisted of shells, with a hole 
in the centre, through which a string was passed. 
This money was called "wampum." Their religion 
consisted of the worship of good and evil spirits. 



The Indian doctor was called the "Medicine Man." 
They may have used some herbs in curing the sick; 
but their principal "medicine" was the making of as 
much noise as possible, by howling and groaning, in 
order to drive the bad spirits out of the sick and the 
dying. 

The Indian chiefs usually had several wives, and 
these were called "squaws." The children were called 
"papooses." The Staten Island Indians did not chop 
down trees, because they had no suitable tools; but 
they built a fire around a tree, and when enough of the 
trunk was charred or burnt, the tree fell. Their boats 
v/ere made of tree trunks by burning out the middle of 
the log. 

In order to make a fire, they rubbed two pieces 
of dry wood against each other until they finally ig- 
nited. Whenever they wanted some good ground on 
which to plant corn or tobacco, they "girdled" the 
trees — that is, they cut away the bark with their 
knives, made of flint or shell. The trees then died, and 
later they burnt them and thus secured the ground. 

They had clay pots in which they boiled their 
water. Their meals were very simple, and they drank 
nothing but the pure, clear water from the many fine 
springs v/hich were found on the Island. 

Just as we have weather prophets to-day, who tell 
us in advance what kind of weather v/e are going to 
have, so the Indians had a "v/eather priest," whom 
they called "Kitzinake." He had the queer habit of 
never eating any food prepared by married women. 

Our New Year, as we all know, commences on the 
first of January, but the Indian New Year commenced 
in March, when the days and nights were of the same 
length, and they celebrated the New Year with feasts. 



They smoked their tobacco in long pipes, made 
of the same serpentine rock found to-day in the hills 
between Tompkinsville and Richmond. 

From time to time, they had great feasts, which 
were usually celebrated at some point near the Sea- 
shore. They evidently ate a great many fish, oysters 
and clams, as indicated by the large heaps of shells 
which can be seen to this day. At these feats they 
sometimes amused themselves by torturing prisoners 
taken in their warfare with neighboring tribes. They 
usually tied their prisoners to stakes, and then shot 
them with arrows which had sharp points made of 
flint. 

At one of the places where these feasts were cele- 
brated, near Tottenville, the skeleton of a big Indian, 
nearly seven feet tall, was found, with arrows still 
sticking to his chest bone. He had evidently been tak- 
en prisoner, had been tied to a tree or stake, and then 
shot to death. 

As both food and water were necessary, their vil- 
lages were usually situated near the seashore, not far 
distant from a good spring. We know that there were 
Indian villages at Tottenville, near the Southern end 
of the Island; at Holland's Hook, opposite Elizabeth- 
port; at Green Ridge; at Giffords, and at West New 
Brighton. At the latter point was the "Council Place," 
where the Indians usually met the white men, to carry 
on peace negotiations after a war. 

When the Indians died, they were buried in a 
sitting position on a log, and alongside of them was 
placed a pot of food, a spoon with which to eat, and 
some wampum, or money, so that they would be well 
supplied with necessaries in the Spirit Land, or the 
"Happy Hunting Grounds," into which they passed 
at death. 



THE FIRST COMING OF THE WHITE MAN 

Thirty-two years after Columbus discovered 
America, on a summer afternoon in 1524, the Indians 
Hving on the South Shore of the Island were greatly 
astonished at seeing, far out at sea, what looked to 
them to be a huge bird; but which, as it came nearer 
and nearer, proved to be a ship in full sail. They had 
never seen anything like it before, and as soon as the 
news of this wonderful thing spread, the Indians 
swarmed to the shore, where they hid behind trees 
to watch the strange visitor. It was a French ship, 
commanded by an Italian captain, called *'Verrazza- 
no." The first discovery of Staten Island by white 
men was thus made by an Italian. 

The ship sailed up the Lower Bay, and anchored 
in the Narrows. The Indians from their hidiijg places 
saw queer men with white faces and beards, and heard 
them talk a language which they did not understand. 

As frequently happens now, on hot summer af- 
ternoons, a sudden storm came up, and the captain, 
fearing that his ship might be driven ashore by the 
storm, hoisted his anchors, put om tf> sea, and disap- 
peared as rapidly as he had come. 

The Indians watched the ship until it faded away 
in the distance, and scarcely knew whax to think or 
say. You may well imagine that it was discussed by 
them for years afterwards. They wondered whether 
it would return, and watched for it ; but no ship came, 
and the strange incident was related around the camp 
fires of the rude natives, as we tell fairy tales to-day. 



SECOND COMING OF THE WHITE MAN OR 
"SWANNAKIN" 

Finally, on the third day of September, 1609, 
eighty-five years after Verrazzano's discovery of Sta- 
ten Island, and after all the Indians who had witnessed 
the first coming of the white man had gone to the Hap- 
py Hunting Grounds, another ship was seen for out at 
sea, and word was rapidly passed along among the 
Indians that the story told by their fathers and grand- 
fathers must be true, for the strangers were returning ; 
and again the Indians swarmed to the point of land 
opposite The Narrows. This time it was a Dutch ship, 
the "Half Moon," in charge of an English captain, 
Henry Hudson. He anchored in the same place at 
which Verrazzano had stopped, and the weather being 
fair he launched a boat with a few men, who rov/ed 
through The Narrows, and along the North Shore 
of the Island, through what is now called the Kill van 
KuU, as far as Holland's Hook, the Indians following 
along the shore, and watching every movement 

Thinking that these new comers must be enemies, 
some of the Indians, more courageous than others, set 
out in a large canoe. The white men turned back and 
when they reached a point about where West New 
Brighton is now located, the Indians in the canoe at- 
tacked them with their bows and arrows John Cole- 
man, who was in command, was shot in the throat 
with an arrow, and died while the boat was returning 
to the "Half Moon." 

Finding, however, that the white men had evi- 
dently not come to fight, the Indians tried to make 
friends of them; and after some hesitation, they came 



on board the "Half Moon," and brought Indian com 
and tobacco as tokens of friendship. Captain Henry 
Hudson detained two Indians, treated them well and 
gave them red coats to wear, which greatly pleased 
them. When, after a few days, he weighed anchor and 
sailed up the Bay and the great river (named after 
him, "The Hudson River"), he took them with him. 
On his sail up the river, Hudson had some fights with 
hostile tribes of Indians, and the two from Staten Is- 
land becoming frightened, jumped overboard, when 
the ship was near what is now West Point, swam 
ashore and traveled back to Staten Island, on foot, 
alarming the Indians on the way and creating a feel- 
ing of hostility against the white men. 

Consequently, when Hudson returned to Staten 
Island, which he named "Staaten Eylandt," in honor 
of the States General of Holland, on October 4th, 1609, 
he met with a hostile reception when he attempted to 
land. As he was not looking for trouble, Hudson 
weighed anchor, and sailed for Holland, to report the 
results of his discovery. 

The Indians, as their forefathers had done eighty- 
five years before, stationed men on the high points of 
the Island, where they watched day and night for the 
return of the white men. 

A year later another Dutch ship came, and on at- 
tempting to land the Indians again atacked the white 
men and forced them to leave. 

After another year, in 161 1, a third ship came; and 
two years later several ships passed through The 
Narrows, on their way up the Hudson, where they 
traded European goods or furs. 



FIRST SETTLEMENT OF STATEN ISLAND 

Up to 1613 no white men had settled on Staten 
Island; but about 1624 a number of immigrants from 
what is now Belgium, arrived on Staten Island. They 
were called Walloons, after the country from which 
they came. 

They did not remain long. During their stay here, 
however, a very important event happened, namely, 
the birth of the first white child on Staten Island. It 
was a girl and her name was Sarah Ropye (or Rapel- 
ja). Direct descendants of the family still reside here. 

The Indians drove the Walloons off the Island, 
and they moved to Manhattan, where there was quite 
a large Dutch settlement. 

The red men thought they had driven the white 
men off the Island forever; but a great many Dutch- 
men had arrived in New Amsterdam in the meantime. 
All of them, in passing up the Narrows, had, of course, 
seen Staten Island ; and, attracted by its natural beau- 
ties, they decided to come over and settle here; and 
when a Dutchman makes up his mind to do a thing, he 
usually does it, thus originating the saying, "It is hard 
to beat the Dutch." 

So the Dutch came to Staten Island about 1637, 
settled near what is now Fort Wadsworth, and called 
their village "Het Dorp." (The village) From this 
time on serious trouble from the Indians commenced. 
The older natives were clever enough to understand 
that the white men wanted their land, and would take 
it from them by force ; for the Indians with their bows 
and arrows were no match for the white men with 
their firearms, which created "lightning and thunder." 



Consequently, the Indians offered to sell their 
lands to the white men, and as the latter discovered 
that they could buy the whole Island for a few trifles, 
such as blankets, knives, hatchets, beads, and other 
things of little value, they bought the land ; but as the 
Indians could not read or write, there were constant 
misunderstandings between the two races. Some- 
times the Indians were to blame, and sometimes the 
white men were ; but, whenever there was a misunder- 
standing, there was fighting, and it usually commenc- 
ed by the Indians surprising the settlers at night; 
burning their homes, killing or stealing their cattle, 
and murdering the men, women and children. The 
Dutch would send soldiers from New Amsterdam, and 
they in turn would burn the Indian villages, kill as 
many Indians as possible, and force them to make 
peace. This continued for nearly fifty years. 

In the meantime more white men settled on Sta- 
ten Island, and so many Indians had been killed that 
those remaining wisely concluded to make peace for 
good and forever; and a great council was held in 
which the Indians finally sold their lands for the last 
time, and to show that they intended to give up their 
lands and their woods, they handed the white men a 
piece of sod and a small twig of every kind of wood 
growing on Staten Island, except the hickory and the 
ash, which they reserved, presumably to make bows 
and arrows. The Indians received in pay some 
blankets, knives, axes and beads. 

Among the many wars which were fought, three 
deserve special mention. 



THE PEACH WAR 

This war was caused by one Van Dyck, the At- 
torney-General of the New Netherland, who lived on 
Staten Island during the summer. Looking out of his 
window one morning, and seeing an Indian woman 
picking some peaches from a tree in his garden, he be- 
came enraged, took a gun from the wall and shot the 
woman dead. The Indians were very angry at this 
murder. They went to New Amsterdam and de- 
manded of the Governor that Van Dyck should be 
delivered to them so he might be punished by them. 
As this meant the death of Van Dyck, the Governor 
refused to surrender him, and the Indians, now thor- 
oughly aroused, came back to Staten Island and mur- 
dered the Dutch settlers, burnt their houses and de- 
stroyed their crops. There were about sixty families. 



THE PIG WAR 

Another time, some pigs were the cause of a war 
which caused much bloodshed. 

It appears that a ship on its way from New Am- 
sterdam to the Delaware, where there was a large set- 
tlement of Dutch, stopped at the "Watering Place," 
about where Tompkinsville is located, in order to take 
on board some fresh water from a spring which had 
an excellent reputation. 

The sailors, seeing some pigs near the place where 
they went to get the water, stole them, took them on 
board and sailed away. The owners of the pigs dis- 
covering the loss, concluded the Indians must have 
stolen them, and accused them of the theft. This, of 
course, they denied; but the Dutch Governor at New 
Amsterdam, sent some soldiers to Staten Island to 
punish the Indians. The latter, when attacked, defend- 
ed themselves, and after a number of them had been 
killed, they in turn attacked the farmers, burnt their 
dwellings and barns, ran off with their cattle, and 
killed as many settlers as they could, until they were 
compelled to make peace. 



THE WHISKEY WAR 

Another time a war was caused by whiskey.. A 
Dutch governor named Kieft had started a whiskey 
distillery at what is now New Brighton (the first in 
America). The Indians had learned to drink whiskey 
from the white men, and the Dutch traders having 
discovered, as many others have since, that they could 
take advantage of men when they are drunk, proceed- 
ed to get the Indians in that condition and then 
swindled them in an outrageous manner. When the 
Redskins became sober, they accused the Dutch trad- 
ers of having robbed them of their furs, and when the 
Dutch refused to make good the losses, the latter 
went on the war path and again murdered nearly all 
the Dutch farmers and burnt their homes to the 
ground, continuing until the soldiers again subdued 
them. 

From this, it may be seen that to farm on Staten 
Island, with Indians as neighbors, was to invite hard 
times. 



THE LAST INDIANS 

By these constant conflicts with the whites, and 
possibly by wars with other Indians, the Aquehongas 
dwindled in number until comparatively few were left. 

The last pure-blooded Aquehonga Indians lived 
at Green Ridge in 1826, and were known as Sam and 
Hannah and their daughter, Nancy. They were buried 
in the graveyard at Green Ridge and thus ends the 
Indian history of Staten Island. Their silent resting 
place is located a few yards from the large dairy barn 
on the old Seaman estate, now the property of Mr. 
George W. White. 



THE DUTCH PERIOD 

After the discovery of America by Columbus, the 
Spaniards took possession of nearly all of South 
America, Central America and the West Indian Is- 
lands, and even a part of North America. 

They found great wealth of gold and silver in 
Mexico and Peru. This attracted the attention of 
every European Nation which soon had ships sailing 
the seas in almost every direction, trying to discover 
new lands which they might take possession of in the 
hope of finding treasure. 

The next door neighbors of the Spaniards, the 
Portuguese, took possession of Brazil, in South 
America; the French conquered Canada; the EngHsh 
settled Virginia and New England. Even the Scotch 
and Swedes made attempts to establish colonies in 
America — the former in Central America and the lat- 
ter on the Delaware. 

The Dutch were a very powerful Nation at that 
time, and they, Uke the rest of the nations, started out 
on expeditions to discover new countries which they 
might settle. 

The main hope of all these nations was to find 
gold and silver; but they soon learned that Spain had 
already taken possession of the only countries where 
the precious metals were to be found. Consequently, 
the only advantage which they could immediately de- 
rive from their discoveries, was from commerce with 
the Indians ; and about the only thing the Indians had 
to offer in exchange for the European goods, were the 
furs of wild animals. Furs were then, as they are 
now, very valuable, and the fur trade continued for a 
long time to be the principal and most profitable arti- 
cle of commerce. 



It has been told in the early part of this history 
that Henry Hudson on his ship, the "Half Moon," dis- 
covered Staten Island in 1609, and then sailed up the 
Bay to Manhattan, and thence up the Hudson. In 
exchange for the goods he brought along, he obtained 
quite a large supply of valuable furs, but no gold and 
silver. He took possession of the country in the name 
of the Dutch Government and called it "New Nether- 
lands.". When be returned to Holland and reported 
his discovery, and told about the Indians, the Dutch 
merchants in Amsterdam decided to fit out some more 
ships to engage in the fur trade; and the Dutch Gov- 
ernment decided to establish a settlement, or colony, 
in the country discovered by Hudson. The next year 
another ship was sent to New Netherlands, and a regu- 
lar settlem.ent was established on Manhattan Island, 
and in honor of the Capital of Holland, the location 
was called New Amsterdam. 

Later, another settlement was founded, far up the 
Hudson River, where Albany now stands, called Fort 
Orange, and gradually the whole country between the 
Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, was taken posses- 
sion of by the Dutch, and was called New Netherlands 
and a large number of villages or settlements were 
founded by them. Most of them were given Dutch 
names, such as New Amsterdam, Hoboken, Weehaw- 
ken, Staaten Eylandt, Fort Orange (now Albany) 
Bruikelen (now Brooklyn), etc., and some of them re- 
ceived Indian names, such as Poughkeepsie, Nyack, 
etc. The Hudson River was called the North River, 
and the Delaware, along their Southern boundary, 
was called the South River. 

Now, as the Dutch have been an important ele- 
ment in the early history of Staten Island, it should be 
remembered that Holland, at the time of the discovery 



of America and for a few hundred years afterward, 
was a very powerful nation, which had reached a high 
state of development in nearly all human occupations. 
They were skilful, and the leading manufacturers of 
Europe ; they had men of great learning ; they were 
great painters; their merchants were powerful, and 
they were the masters of the sea. Their fight for lib- 
erty against Spain had made them the heroes of their 
age. They were a most peaceful, but a most deter- 
mined race of men, whose main charactertistic, ac- 
cording to the famous Italian, De Amici, was "phleg- 
matic energy." Their coming to North America and 
the establishment of the New Netherlands had an im- 
portant effect on the future development of our coun- 
try. 

Among the early settlers in New Amsterdam was 
Michael Pauw, who on the promise to establish set- 
tlements, obtained a grant from the Dutch Govern- 
ment to land in New Jersey, where Jersey City now 
stands, and also on Staten Island, with the understand- 
ing, however, that he must pay the Indians for the 
land. He carried out his bargain with the Govern- 
ment. He established a settlement in New Jersey, 
which he called "Commune de Pauw," or in English, 
Village of Pauw. It still goes by the name of Com- 
munepau. He never established a settlement on Sta- 
ten Island, evidently because he did not think it was 
worth the trouble and expense. He accordingly ab- 
andoned his claim to it after paying the Indians. 

The first real settler on Staten Island was Peter 
de Vries, who bought it from the Government in 1636, 
after Michael Pauw's abandonment. 

De Vries established a village at what is now Ar- 
rochar, and a number of farms were started. He had 



trouble with the Indians, his blockhouse and buildings 
being destroyed, and his farms devastated by them. 

In 1641 another Dutchman, Cornelius Melyn, ob- 
tained a further grant of land, and he also had his 
share of Indian warfare. His settlement was demol- 
ished, the houses were burnt and the crops destroyed, 
during one of the wars referred to in the "Indian per- 
iod." 

Not discouraged by their constant failures, a fur- 
ther effort at settlement was made, and about 1658 
they founded another village — this time at Stoney 
Brook, on what is now known as the Amboy Road, 
near New Dorp, and as there was more or less travel 
between the old village, called Oude Dorp (old vil- 
lage) near The Narrows, and the new one at "New 
Dorp," the road between the two villages was called 
the "Old Town Road," by which name it is still 
known. 

The founders of Stony Brook were mainly Wald- 
ensians, a very religious people, who came from the 
mountains along the French-Italian border in Europe. 
They were a peaceful people, who understood better 
than those who had gone before them how to secure 
the good will and confidence of the Indians, and they 
consequently had the good fortune to live in peace 
with their Indian neighbors, with whom they did a 
profitable trade in furs. 

At about the same time a number of Huguenots, 
or French Protestants, arrived and settled in the mid- 
dle and southern parts of the Island, mainly in what 
is now known as Westfield, and around Richmond, 
New Springville, and Green Ridge. 

At Stony Brook a church was built, where the 
Waldensians and Huguenots worshipped. A store 
was also built there, and also a court house and a 



jail. This was the first sign of an established gov- 
ernment on Staten Island. The ruins of these build- 
ings are still to be seen and the memories of the place 
were revived by the Hudson-Fulton celebration in Sep- 
tember, 1909. An association has been organized, 
whose object is to erect a monument on the site of the 
Waldensian Church in the near future. 

With the establishment of Stony Brook, a more 
peaceful development of Staten Island commenced. 
Farms were established in different parts of the Island 
by the Dutch and the Huguenots, and the Island 
gradually improved. 

In the meantime, however, matters of great im- 
portance to the new settlements in New Netherlands 
were transpiring. Holland, the great sea power of the 
age, was at war with a growing maritime power — 
England. 

The wars between European powers were usually 
transferred to their colonies in America, and sea-fights 
to wrest from each other their colonies, were carried 
on in American waters. 

Thus in 1661, while Peter Stuyvesant was the 
Dutch Governor in New Amsterdam, a British fleet 
sailed through The Narrows, and demanded, at the 
mouth of its cannons, the surrender of the Dutch 
colony of the New Netherlands. 

Unable to defend himself against an attack of 
the British men-of-war, Peter Stuyvesant was com- 
pelled to surrender the Dutch colonies in North 
America to the English, and Staten Island, together 
with the rest of New Netherlands, fell into the hands 
of the English, and became a part of the British col- 
ony, the name of which was then changed to "New 
York," in honor of the Duke of York, who became the 
master of the new English colony. 



Nine years after this event, a Dutch fleet put in 
an appearance and took possession of the colony 
again, and the Dutch were once more masters of the 
New Netherlands; but when peace was declared be- 
tween England and Holland, a few years later, the 
Dutch colonies were again surrendered to England by 
treaty; and thus ends the Dutch period of the New 
Netherlands, and also the Dutch period for Staten 
Island. 

The Dutch and Huguenot settlers were fortun- 
ately treated with every consideration by their new 
masters; their customs, languages, and religious wor- 
ship were not interfered with, and they were gradual- 
ly absorbed after generations, by the Anglo-Saxon in- 
fluence. 

Our Dutch and Huguenot ancestors have plainly 
left the impression of their character upon the minds 
of those who have studied the history of our Island. 
The name of the Island remains the same ; the names 
of many places, such as Great Kills, Fresh Kills, 
Huguenot, Achter Kill (corrupted into Arthur Kill), 
Kill Van Kull, Robbens Reff (seal rock, corrupted into 
Bobbin's Reef) and so on, remind us of them, and a 
long list of Dutch and Huguenot names, still numer- 
ously represented by families living here, are evidence 
of their descent from those noble ancestors. 



ENGLISH COLONIAL PERIOD 

One of the first acts performed by the new Eng- 
lish Governor, Richard Nicoll, in the name of the 
Crown of England, was to take formal possession of 
Staten Island. This was done, near the present Fort 
Wadsworth, overlooking The Narrows. He made a 
number of grants of land on Staten Island to settlers ; 
and from these, called "Colonial Grants," most of the 
land titles took their origin. 

Governor Nicoll's successor was Governor Love- 
lace, and one of the important acts performed by him, 
connected with local history, was the last purchase of 
the Island from the Indians. 

Staten Island, as has been shown in the previous 
pages, was purchased repeatedly from the Indians by 
the Dutch, in accordance with the requirements of the 
Dutch Government at home ; but as there were always 
some Indians who claimed not to have joined in the 
sales, Governor Lovelace decided once and forever to 
settle the native claims, and in making his purchase 
he made every Indian — men and women and even boys 
and girls of 12 to 15 years of age, sign the deed. 

In payment, the Indians received wampum, 30 
shirts, 30 kettles, 20 guns, some lead, powder, knives 
and axes. By this sale the Indians forever parted with 
their claim to Staten Island. 

The English, on taking possession of the Island, 
established a regular form of Government, and Sta- 
ten Island became the County of Richmond, in the Col- 
ony of New York, and Stony Brook, near New Dorp, 
was the County Seat. 

The Colony of New York embraced all of New 
Netherlands, extending from the Delaware River, 
which was called the "South River," to Connecticut, 



and up the Hudson River, called by the Dutch the 
"North River." 

About 1668, Lord Berkeley received a grant from 
the crown to all lands west of the Hudson River, 
which he called Nova Caesarea, or New Jersey, and at 
first Staten Island was considered as a part of New 
Jersey and paid taxes to that colony; but a dispute 
arising between the Duke of York and Lord Berkeley 
as to the ownership of Staten Island, and other is- 
lands in the mouth of the Hudson River, it was decid- 
ed that all islands which could be circumnavigated in 
twenty-four hours should belong to New York, all 
others to New Jersey. 

The task of sailing around Staten Island was as- 
signed to Christopher Billopp, who, in his sloop, the 
"Bentley," circumnavigated the Island in a few min- 
utes less than 24 hours, and thus saved the Island for 
the Duke of York. Christopher Billopp was rewarded 
by a grant of about 1163 acres of land at the extreme 
south end of the Island, and he there built a house 
which is still standing, and which is called the "Bent- 
ly Manor," in honor of the ship owned by Billopp. 

After Governor Lovelace came Governor Andros, 
and after him Governor Dongan, an Irishman, after- 
wards the Earl of Limmerick. Governor Dongan was 
very fond of Staten Island, and lived in his castle over- 
looking the Kill Van Kull, at what is now known as 
West New Brighton, near the present Dongan street. 
He had a shooting lodge, near Castleton Corners, and 
the road which led from there to the Castle or Manor 
of Governor Dongan was and is still called "Manor 
Road." 

The Island was divided into four towns. That 
surrounding the castle or manor of Governor Dongan, 
was called Castletowne, embracing what was the vil- 



lage of New Brighton (now the first ward), Northfield 
(now the third ward), Southfield (now the 4th ward) 
and Westfield (now the fifth ward). (The town of 
Middletown, now the second ward, was not organized 
until 1866. It is composed of parts of Castleton and 
Southfield.) 

In 1683 the inhabitants were counted, and it was 
shown that there were about 200 farmers and 2,000 
Indians. The latter gradually died off, partly due to 
wars among themselves and partly due to disease. 

In 1729 the County Seat was removed from Stony 
Brook to what was then called Cuckoldstown, which 
was later and now is called Richmond, in the centre of 
the Island, the main reason being that it could easily 
be reached from all parts, and because "there was a 
bell at St. Andrew's Church, which was thought to add 
dignity to the place." 

In the meantime the Island continued to develop 
peacefully. The inhabitants were mostly farmers and 
numbered about 3,000. 

Nothing of especial interest transpired on Staten 
Island, except such historical events as occurred in 
the Colony of New York; as for instance the wars 
with France, which from its possessions in Canada 
was more or less constantly trying to gain possession 
of the Colony of New York. 



REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD 

About the middle of the eighteenth century, a 
general feeling of unrest commenced to make itself 
felt in all parts of the American Colonies, owing to the 
oppression of the English Government. 

Taxes of all kinds were imposed upon the Ameri- 
cans, and laws were inaugurated in England, which 
were not to the tastes of the Colonies, and when their 
protests received no attention nor consideration, a gen- 
eral spirit of rebellion against the mother country be- 
came more and more pronounced, until finally in 1774, 
a congress of the American Colonies assembled in 
Philadelphia, to determine what steps should be taken. 

The King of England expected to crush the op- 
position by sending an army to America, and as was 
expected, the colonists prepared for armed resistance. 

At Lexington, in the State of Massachusetts, the 
first blood was shed, and the battle of Bunker Hill, 
near Boston, where the Americans covered themselves 
with glory, was fought. 

George Washington, of Virginia, was made com- 
mander of the American forces, by the Congress of 
the American Colonies, and a large army was sent 
to America from England to subdue the revolting col- 
onies. 

In 1776 over 100 English ships anchored in the 
Bay, and a large army of English and Hessian soldiers, 
under General William Howe, took possession of Sta- 
ten Island and fortified all the important points, such 
as Fort Hill, Richmond, Holland's Hook, Blazing 
Star (now Rossville), Bently Manor (now Totten- 
ville), and a number of other places, to protect them- 
selves against the Americans, who assembled in large 
numbers on the New Jersey shore. For the purpose 



of making a last effort to bring about peace, General 
Howe met Benjamin Franklin, John Adams and Ed- 
ward Rutledge, representatives of the American 
Congress, in the Billopp house, Tottenville; but noth- 
ing came of it and the war continued in earnest. On 
July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was 
signed in Philadelphia, and was read by General Howe 
a few days later at his headquarters in the Rose and 
Crown farm house in New Dorp, where the British 
forces were encamped. He remarked that "That doc- 
ument has been signed by very determined men." 

The Americans made frequent attacks on Staten 
Island, but owing to the large British force located 
here, they were unable to accomplish much, but com- 
mitted acts of great bravery such as for instance 
battles in Richmond and the storming of old St. An- 
drews Church, in the fall of 1776, and again in August, 
1777, the Enghsh soldiers having fortified themselves 
in the church on both occasions. 

Another determined attack was made by the 
American General, Sullivan, who came over from New 
Jersey with his command and fought gallantly; also 
by Lord Stirlmg, who engaged the Loyalists at Pel- 
ton's Cove, West New Brighton, and other points 
and then both returned to New Jersey, after having 
inflicted serious injury on the English. 

Among other interesting episodes of the war, was 
the capture of Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Billopp, 
a Loyalist officer, who was taken prisoner in his own 
house at the Manor of Bently by the Americans who 
had watched his house for days from the steeple of a 
church in Perth Amboy, across the Staten Island 
Sound (still standing). 

In the meantime, within sight of Staten Island, 
the battle of Long Island was fought, in which the 



Americans were defeated and New York was taken 
possession of by the English. The courage and de- 
termination of General Washington and the American 
Army, in the end, won victory over the English. The 
great battles of Saratoga, and Yorktown, in which the 
English were defeated, finally won the liberty of the 
American colonies, and on November 25, 1783, the 
British army and navy passed through The Narrows 
on its way to England. In passing Staten Island, a 
last parting cannon shot was fired at the Americans, 
who had assembled on the Heights overlooking the 
Narrows at Fort Wadsworth, to see the English de- 
part for good, and who in their demonstration of joy 
and happiness probably provoked a feeling of resent- 
ment on the part of the departing Englishman. 



THE MODERN PERIOD 

After the English had left, the American colonies 
— now free and independent — set to work to organize 
the New Government. It was probably the most crit- 
ical period in American History, owing to the many 
differences of opinion as to the form of Government 
which should be adopted. The American nation was 
brought to the brink of disaster, but in the end the 
good, common sense of the people prevailed, and the 
plan of Government, which has safely guided our 
destiny so far, was adopted. 

Staten Island, known as the County of Richmond, 
organized its local government and continued to pros- 
per as the most southerly county of the great state of 
New York. 

The inhabitants of Staten Island were mainly 
farmers and fishermen, but about 1837, the many beau- 
ties of nature began to attract the attention of rich 
merchants of New York, and they bought land here 
for summer residences. 

Thomas Davis purchased a large tract of land be- 
tween the old Quarantine at Tompkinsville and Sail- 
ors' Snug Harbor, on the North Shore. He construct- 
ed a fine highway, called Richmond Terrace, erected a 
number of fine dwellings, mostly in the Colonial style 
of architecture, and built a large residence which, in 
later years became known as "The Pavilion." He 
named the new settlement "New Brighton," after 
Brighton, the famous seaside resort in England. Sta- 
ten Island soon became the fashionable center for rich 
New Yorkers and Southerners during the summer, and 
many beautiful and expensive homes were built. With 
the development of steam navigation, ferries were es- 
tablished between New York and different points on 



Staten Island and the population grew rapidly in 
numbers. 

In 1858 an event took place which caused much 
excitement. It was the burning of the old Quarantine 
hospital at Tompkinsville by citizens of the county, 
who, after having protested in vain against the pres- 
ence of a yellow fever hospital in their midst, took 
the law into their own hands and applied the torch. 
The State of New York thereupon built two artificial 
islands in the lower bay — called Hoffman and Swin- 
burne Islands — and transferred the hospitals to these 
islands — charging the expense to the County of Rich- 
mond. 

In i860. Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, a na- 
tive of Staten Island and the owner of the ferries be- 
tween New York and the East Shore, built a railroad 
from Clifton to Tottenville. 

During the Civil War Staten Island furnished its 
share of soldiers, many of whom laid down their lives 
for the preservation of the Union. 

About 1880, Erastus Wiman came to Staten Is- 
land, and believing in its commercial advantages, se- 
cured control of the railroad between Clifton and Tot- 
tenville. He then built the Rapid Transit Railroad 
along the shore from South Beach to Holland's Hook, 
and in place of the many ferries, established one be- 
tween St. George and New York. A large railroad 
bridge which spans the Sound, was erected through 
Mr. Wiman's influence, giving Staten Island direct 
rail connection with the railroad system on the Main- 
land. 

In 1895, the present system of electric street cars 
was introduced. 

In 1898 Staten Island became a part of the City of 
New York, under the name of the Borough of Rich- 
mond. 



In igoo, the Municipal ferry between St. George 
and Manhattan was started, and later another ferry 
between Manhattan and Stapleton, but this was finally 
abandoned. 

There were many other important events on Sta- 
ten Island which cannot be mentioned through lack of 
space. 

Among the many prominent men who lived on 
Staten Island were Aaron Burr, Vice-President of the 
United States; Daniel D. Tompkins, Vice-President 
of the United States ; Commodore Cornelius Vander- 
bilt, the founder of the Vanderbilt family; Garibaldi, 
the Italian Liberator; Santa Anna, a former Presi- 
dent of Mexico; Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great 
American philosopher ; Nathaniel Hawthorn ; George 
V^illiam Curtis, Erastus Brooks, and other literary 
men, Bill Nye, the great humorist; Erastus Wiman, 
commercial and industrial promotor ; William Winter, 
the famous critic and others prominent in the history 
of our Country. 



CONCLUSION 

In conclusion let it be said that Staten Islanders 
may well be proud of their little island. 

Where in the American continent is there a place 
more favored by nature than Staten Island? Its 
beautiful hills, commanding views of the ocean, its 
picturesque valleys, its magnificent forests, its pretty 
lakes, its sea shores, its climate, tempered by the 
proximity of the ocean, all combine to make it an ideal 
place for human habitation. 

Those who live here love it, and the thoughts of 
those who have left it often turn with an affectionate 
memory to the happy days spent among its hills and 
forests. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 





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